Check if anti-smog guns adequate at construction sites in Delhi-NCR, admins told

GURUGRAM: Anticipating dust pollution in summer months, Haryana government has given Gurgaon
and Faridabad district administrations a month’s time to assess how many smog guns are being used at
construction projects in the NCR cities, and whether these are adequate in number to settle pollutants
emitted from these sites.
“A month’s time was given to the deputy commissioners to coordinate with various departments or
agencies to do the ground survey and determine any gaps in anti-smog gun deployment and usage,” Rao
Raghavender, chairman of Haryana State Pollution Control Board (HSPCB), said on Sunday.

The order was given at a meeting chaired by state chief secretary Sanjeev Kaushal on Saturday.
Anti-smog guns spray fine particles of water into the air, creating artificial mist that settles dust and
PM.2.5 particles and other pollutants.
In summer, dust becomes a key pollutant as dry weather along with warm winds suspend it in the air.
According to HSPCB norms, at least one anti-smog gun should be deployed for a construction site
spanning over an area of 5,000-10,000sqm. This figure doubles for a project being carried out on an area
between 10,001 and 15,000sqm. Three such machines are needed if the project is even larger (15,001- 20,000sqm) and four for an area over 20,000sqm. Currently, there are 900 large construction sites in Gurgaon, such as high-rises, office buildings,
warehouses, etc.
When asked about the government order, an official said the Gurgaon district administration will “work
according to the directions. We will analyse the gaps and submit the report within a month”.
In November 2019, Supreme Court had asked the central government to install smog towers and antismog guns to fight pollution in Delhi-NCR, and ordered the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) to
be part of the plan.
Smog towers are essentially large-scale air purifiers, with capacity to clean up to 32 million cubic metres
of air per day. Delhi had carried out trial runs of anti-smog guns in 2019, but some experts say such
measures can only be temporary, since they have no impact on reducing pollution from its source. There
are around half-a-dozen smog towers in Gurgaon and Faridabad.

Separately, the Haryaya pollution board has to ensure that large construction sites are registered on the
government portal to allow real-time monitoring of air pollution. The portal, launched this January on the
directions of the Commission of Air Quality Management (CAQM) for NCR, features a live dashboard to
reflect ambient air quality status at construction and demolition sites.
According to HSPCB officials, construction sites have been given a checklist for monitoring compliance
of dust mitigation measures. The list includes use of anti-smog guns, water cannons and hoses, fire
hydrants, sprinklers, etc. Monitoring of such sites has to be carried out by the district administrations and the pollution board.